Round 3 of chemo should have started yesterday. But blood tests came back and some stuff with my kidneys were still too high to start. In the afternoon, I went to the kidney specialist (very unprepared). In good news, I’m NOT having pain from the cancerous lymph nodes, but I am having body pain from the car accident.

I’m currently at the halfway point of treatment for my testicular cancer. I have seen a difference in hair loss and skin color. I am planning a big shaving reveal. I’m doing everything I can to hold my head up high and overcome everything that has been thrown my way. I knew cancer treatment was expensive, but did not expect the bill collectors so soon. You probably will not guess what triggered the calls.

While at the cancer treatment center, they were trying to control my WBC and problems with my bone marrow caused great pain. I could barely walk. So I was hospitalized again. While I was there, they tried more ways to control the Afib that won’t go away. Before I went home, it finally happened – hair loss.

You would think the chemicals from chemotherapy are more than enough for your body to handle. But no, my testicular cancer treatment complications mean a new need for strong drugs to raise my white blood cell count, fix A-Fib, and ward off infections.

I have something to admit about myself that I need to share now. Testicular cancer treatments have me thinking and wanting to talk. And they’re causing me stress about finances. Plus, I’ve received a lot of questions about dealing with cancer, so I answer those.

Should insurance decide if your cancer has spread to the brain? That’s what mine did. Then the radiologists forgot I attended an appointment. And I end with something funny: a phone call about sperm banking for testicular cancer.

While meeting the chemo specialist today, I was told they still need to rule out if my testicular cancer spread into a brain tumor. So, doing that before treatment is scheduled. Thus far, I can still make the decision between chemotherapy or radiation.

After having a CT scan and meeting with a radiologist, I learned my testicular cancer spread to the lymph nodes. I share their sizes and what the radiologist says my chances are if I use radiology vs. chemotherapy.

The testicle that was removed has been not like the other one for as long as I can remember. Could this have been caught sooner? I have NEVER heard anyone with a testicular cancer diagnosis talk about it. So I will be regularly sharing my story with you.